Headphone comprising a resilient strap



April 24, 1962 K. SCHUSTER ET AL 3,031,539

HEADPHONE COMPRISING A RESILIENT STRAP Filed Dec. 6, 1960 KARL scHusTER ALFRED GETHNGER INVENTORS AGENT:

United States Patent 3,031,539 HEADPHONE COMPRISING A RESILEENT STRAP Kari Schuster, Vienna, and Aliired Gettinger, Worriern, Austria, assignors to Akustische u. Kino-Geriite Geselischaft m.b.H., Vienna, Austria, a firm Filed Dec. 6, 1960, Ser. No. 74,149 Claims priority, application Austria Mar. 17, 11 60 Claims. (Cl. 179-156} This invention relates to a headphone comprising a resilient strap and characterized in that the resilient element of the strap providing a mechanical connection of the two receivers is surrounded by a plastic covering, which has a tubular duct which is preferably disposed on the side facing off the head of the user and tightly encloses the lead electrically connecting the two receivers; this duct is provided with a preferably self-closing longitudinal slot to facilitate the introduction of the connecting lead.

According to a further feature of the invention push-on sleeves, preferably of metal, are provided on both ends of the plastic part of the strap to prevent the lead which connects the two receivers from being pulled out of the duct, these sleeves tightly enclose the two end portions.

In the previously known headphones the resilient bail consists of one or several bands of thin steel, which are bright or covered with leather or imitation leather. The

lead to the receivers is formed by a branched cable so that a separate lead depends from each receiver and these leads combine to form a common cable after about 40 cm. The disadvantages of this known arrangement consist mainly in that the leads to the receivers tend to become entangled and then cause unnecessary trouble. The repeated entangling and disentangling causes also damage to the leads by breakage so that the headphone cable must be replaced.

To avoid these disadvantages and to increase the convenience with which headphones can be used, the cable for the headphone according to the invention, comprising a resilient strap, consists of a simple, flexible double lead leading to one of the two receivers. From this receiver the lead is continued to the other receiver in a duct of the plastic covering surrounding the resilient element. In this way an entangling of the cable is prevented.

In this arrangement the electrical connection between the two receivers could be firmly installed in the plastic covering of the strap. It is more suitable, however, to provide in accordance with the invention for a replacement of the lead because otherwise it will be necessary to replace the entire strap in the case of a trouble which may be caused e.g., by a defect of material or by the application of force. For an eflicient manufacture it is also more suitable to insert a completely connected lead than to make soldered or screwed connections at the device itself.

The invention will now be explained more fully with reference to the accompanying drawing. FIG. 1 is an elevation showing the headphone according to the invention. FIGS. 2 and 3 are transverse sectional views showing the resilient strap and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an end sleeve.

As is shown in FIG. 1, the two receivers 1, 2 are carried by a resilient strap 3, which terminates in extensions 4, 5, which consists preferably of flat wire loops and to which the two receivers 1, 2 are slidably attached. The

, by pulling it out of the slot.

the receiver 2 on the extension 5, througha duct in the plastic covering of the strap 3 and past the'second loop 7a to the other receiver. This portion of the lead 6 is shown with dash lines in the strap in FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on line AB in FIG. 1 and showing the strap 3. The preferably flat resilient element 8 is surrounded by a plastic covering 9, which is thicker on the side facing away from the head of the user and in this thicker portion has a duct 10. This duct 1%) is intended to receive the connecting line between the two receivers. The shape of the duct 10 is suitably determined in accordance with the cross-sectional shape of the lead to be accommodated. For the sake of simplicity the lead is in most cases round and has a circular cross-section. On its upper side the duct 10 has a longitudinal slot, which may consist, e.g., of a straight longitudinal slot. In this case the edges of the slot abut and close automatically owing to their inherent resiliency when the connecting cable has been introduced. The slot 11 may also be made as is shown in FIG. 3, with overlapping parts. This embodiment is substantially equivalent with the embodiment shown hereinbefore. There are other possibilities for the design of the slot 11, of course, and it would go too far to list them all here. For instance, the slot 11 could be so wide that its Walls have a certain spacing apart and do not close, so that the lead can be inserted by hand, without any auxiliary device.

The removal of the lead between thetwo receivers from the plastic covering of the strap is simply effected To prevent an unintended pulling of the connecting cable out of the duct,- slotted sleeves 12 (see FIG. 4), which consist preferably of metal, can be pushed on both ends of the plastic covering of the strap. These sleeves embrace the ends of the covering and compress these ends as the sleeves are pushed thereon. Then the wire cannot be pulled out without damage even if force is exerted. The sleeve 12 is at the same time a component which improves the appearance of the receiver.

What is claimed is:

1. A headphone which comprises two receivers, a resilient strap carrying said two receivers and comprising a resilient element connecting said two receivers, a plastic covering surrounding said resilient element and defining a duct, said headphone comprising further a connecting lead electrically connecting said two receivers and disposed in said duct, said covering having a lonigtudinal slot communicating with said duct and facilitating the introduction of said lead into said duct.

2. A headphone as set forth in claim 1, in which said covering has two opposite sides, one of which is adapted to face the head of a person wearing the headphone and the other of which defines said duct.

3. A headphone as set forth in claim 1, in which said slot is self-closing.

4. A headphone as set forth in claim 1, which comprises two sleeves pushed on and tightly enclosing opposite ends of said plastic covering to prevent an unintended pulling of said lead out of said duct.

5. A headphone as set forth iii claim 4, in which said sleeves are of metal.

No references cited. 

